American craft brewers saw their production rise in 2012 by 15 percent and their dollar value by 17 percent in a report released Monday by the Brewers Association. Overall, those smaller breweries produced 13.2 million barrels of beer last year, about 6.5 percent of the total U.S. beer market.

It's a rush that hasn't left Colorado standing on the sidelines. According to Steve Kurkowski of the Colorado Brewers Guild, 15 to 20 new breweries opened in the state last year, and many existing ones have expanded.

"I firmly believe that people in Colorado like to know who's behind the things they buy," said Kurkowski, the guild's marketing manager. "They like to know who brews their coffee, who makes their bagels, and they like to know who brews their beer."

Craft Beer Week

That 15 to 20, by the way, includes Bootstrap Brewing, which last June became the first craft brewer in Niwot.

Bootstrap is one of several new breweries to open in Boulder County during the past year. The brewery, at 6778 N. 79th St., has had an "overwhelmingly great response" from the community and business owners, said co-owner Leslie Kaczeus, who opened Bootstrap with her husband, Steve. The demand for the new brews resulted in Bootstrap kegging and bottling its beers much earlier than planned.

"The craft beer fans, they're constantly looking for something new and excited to try new beers and new breweries," she said.

Kaczeus said there could be more room for growth in the industry -- her belief is that every town should have its own neighborhood brewery -- where the concern comes from is shelf space at the liquor stores. "The more people enter the market, I think, the more we're going to have to compete to get products on the shelf," she said.

The legal situation in Colorado doesn't hurt a craft brewer. State law allows the companies to operate tasting rooms, to sell beer to go and even to push their own product to liquor stores and bars rather than work through a larger distributor.

Bootstrap Brewing in Niwot is one of the 15 to 20 craft brewers that opened in Colorado in 2012.
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JEREMY PAPASSO
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"We have an awesome set of legislation that allows the smallest breweries to be profitable," Kurkowski said.

"In Longmont, even the national growth numbers look quaint.

Last year, Oskar Blues saw its sales jump by 52 percent and its revenue by 49 percent, while Left Hand Brewing Co. saw a 34.5 percent increase in sales and a 41 percent revenue growth. Both also saw major infrastructure improvements, with Oskar Blues putting more than $4 million into its Longmont facility while Left Hand has been finishing phase three of a $9 million expansion.

Monday's report coincides with the beginning of Craft Beer Week in Colorado, with about 100 events planned statewide through Sunday. A list of events by date and location can be found at cobeerweek.com/events-2.

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